GPK collectors were met with some confusion last week as toy seller DKE Toys begin selling a 4-card pack of Madballs vs. GPK cards on their website. Collectors were confused because these are the cards that are suppose to be part of a preorder bonus offered by PremiumDNA toys as part of their Madballs vs. GPK figures. PremiumDNA originally launched preorders for the line in Jan. 2022. The company has sited various reasons for shipping delays from Covid, to Fanatics buyout of Topps, to manufacturing delays.
So what exactly is going on? Sidekick Labs confirmed with GPKNews that they were the manufacturer of the cards. According to the company, the packs ended up being part of a liquidation event. DKE Toys now owns all 1500 packs and began selling them on their website last week. These cards are the ones that were licensed by Topps and intended for the PremiumDNA preorder.
PremiumDNA tells GPKNews they believe there was a mixup with the packs. Since this came to light, they have worked on a solution they believe is a win for collectors. Collectors who preordered will now receive two packs of cards. Pack one will contain the same cards, except printed as foil cards. Pack two will be sticker cards with the B names of the characters. Both packs will come in different color wax wrappers to differentiate them from the originals. Additionally, these packs will be limited to /750, half the original amount. As far as the progress of the Madballs vs. GPK figures, the company tells GPKNews they were unhappy with the tooling on recent samples they were sent from the manufacturer. They are in process of working with the manufacturer to fix the parts, see in progress pictures below. Right now there is no estimated shipping date for the figures.
So the mystery appears to be solved for the time being. There will end up being three different 4-card packs that collectors will want to get their hands on. Collectors who want the original cards should head over now to DKE Toys and get their pack! Meanwhile, collectors who preordered the Madballs vs. GPK figures will need to remain patient as the company works through manufacturing issues.
